Wrench



July 3l, 1928. 1,678,793

H. w. swlTzER WRENCH Filed March 4, 1926 @MMMM Patented July 31, 13928.

UNITED (STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY W. SWITZER, OF'HAMILTON, ONTARIO, CANADA, SSIGNOR- T0 WILLIAM H.

HEIMBACI-I, OF SNYDER, NEW YORK.v l

WRENCH.

Application filed March 4, 1926. Serial No. 92,142.

rlhis invention relates to improvements in wrenches, and moreparticularly to a quick acting jaw holding and releasing means ormechanism for Wrenches of that type which 5 have a jaw slidably arrangedso as to move towards and from a fixed jaw by means of a rotatableoperating worm or screw engageable with rack teeth on either the slidingjaw or the wrench body.

One object of the invention is to provide wrenches of the kind describedwith quick releasable holding means adapted to prevent the operatingscrew from turning and the sliding jaw from moving when pressure isapplied to saidjaw in a direction away from the fixed jaw, but which,nevertheless, permits the sliding jaw to be quickly moved towards thefixed jaw by pressure exerted on the sliding jaw in the direction of thefixed jaw without the necessity of separately actuating said operatingscrew.

Another object is to provide quick releasing means adapted to be readilyactuated to release said jaw holding means to permit said sliding jaw tobe easily moved away from the fixed jaw without the necessity ofseparately actuating the operating screw.

Other objects are to improve jaw operating or holding and releasingmeans for wrenches in the other respects hereinafter specified andclaimed.

In the drawing: Y

The figure is a fragmentary side elevation partly in section, of awrench having a slidable jaw, and which is provided with the quickacting holding and releasing means for said jaw embodying the invention.

The quick acting jaw holding and releasing means is shown inconnectionwith a well lmown form of wrench, the latter having a head 35provided with a fixed jaw 36 formed at one end of a handle 36, and a jaw37 arranged to slide on said head towards and from said jaw 36. For thispurpose, the head is slotted at 38, and the jaw 37 is provided with asleeve portion 39 which embraces the outer portion of the head and has aweb or guide part extending within said slot. The slot 38 is preferablyformed in the head 35 with an open end which may be closed by means ofthe detachable plate 41 for permitting assembly and subsequentdetachment of the sliding jaw from said head.

The jaw 37, is provided with an operating screw 15a, the threads ofwhich engage in teeth 17a on the adjacent end of the head. The screw isprovided with a cone 2Oa adapted to frictionally engage a tapered seat21CL in the slidingjaw by the pressure exerted on said screw by thespring 23a.

The cone. 2O?L projects part way into the transverse hole 29ad in whichthe plunger 28 is arranged, and the ball or member .304, initsinoperative position, engages the tapered face of the cone 20a. A cam34a is adapted, when the plunger is moved inwardly, to force the ballagainst the cone and move the screw 15a outwardly and its coneoff itsseat 21a. rlhe ball rides up on the end of the cone at the inward limitof movement of the plunger to hold the operating screw in releasedyposition. Inv order lto positively return the plunger 28a toitsvinoperative position and permit the spring 23a to reengage the coneof the operating screw with its seat, a spring or other yielding member40, fixed to the sliding jaw and having its free end engaging the innerend .of the plunger, may be pro vided. By this construction, the jaw 37is prevented from endwise movement away from the fixed jaw 36, aspressure exerted on thejaw 37 or sleeve 39 in the direction away fromsaid fixed jaw tends to more firmly bind the seat 21zt about the cone2Od and prevent the rotation or endwise movement of the screw 15a, thuslocking the jaw firmly in place. The 37 can,.neverthe less, be actuatedin the usual manner -by direct -rotation of the screw 15a.

However, to shift the movable jaw 37 towards the fixed jaw 36, pressureis exertedv on the jaw 37 or sleeve 39 in a direction towards the jaw36, which will tend to separate the cone 20a and seat 21a, sufficientlyto-reduce friction between these parts to a degree such thaty the wormwill be freely rotated by the rackor worm teeth and thus permit thesleeve 39 to slide easily along said outer portion of the head.

In a screw or worm operated wrench of usual form, the operating screwmust be rotated in one direction or another to act-nate the sliding jaweach time a piece of work is to be secured between the jaws of theWrench, which is a slow procedure. Furthermore, the worm or screw andthe rack of the wrench are usually formed with teeth of relatively lowpitch, so that the Worm is frictionally held from turning under ordinaryconditions, except when directly turned by the user.

In order to obtain full advantage of the quick acting holding andreleasing means de scribed, the worm or operating screw l5EL and therack teeth 1'?a are formed with relatively high pitch or quick leadthreads, as shown, so that the screw can be rotated by the rack teeth topermit the movable jaw to be actu ated by endwise pressure on thesliding sleeve l2, without separate manipulation of said screw.

I claim as my invention I. Ina wrench having a member provided with afixed jaw, and a movable member having a jaw shift-able toward and fromsaid ii'xed-iaw, the combination of a threaded operatingyscrewjo'urnaliled on said movable member, teeth on said other member withwhich said screw engages'f'or actuating said movable jaw, a tapered seaton the latter, a tapered part on said screw engageable with said seat, aflat face on the end of said tapered part, means for yieldingly holdingsaid part frictionalily against said seat to prevent said screw fromturning and said movable iaw from shifting when pressure is appliedthereto in a direction away from said fixed jaw, said movable memberhaving an aperture therein communicating with said tapered seat and intowhich said end oi said tapered part projects, an endwise movable plungerdisposed in said aperture and having a recess in one side 'thereofformingV a cam face, a rotatable member disposed in said recess andengaging the side of said tapered screw part and said cam respectively,and said cam being adapted to move said rotatable member along saidtapered part and upon said end face thereoifto move said part away fromsaidtapered seat upon endwise movement of said plunger, whereby saidmovablejaw maybe moved away from said fixed jaw.

2. In a wrench having a member provided with a fixed jaw, and a movablemember having a jaw shitable toward and from said fixed jaw, thecombination of a threaded operating screw j'ournalled on said movablemember, teeth on said other member with which said screw engages foractuating said movable jaw, a tapered seat on `the latter, a taperedpart on said screw engageable with said recess and engaging the side ofsaid tapered screw part and said cam respectively, and said cam beingadapted' to move said rotatable member along said tapered part and uponsaid end face thereof to move said nart away from said tapered seatuponendwise movement of said plunger in one direction,

and a resilient member mounted on said movable jaw and' operativelyengaging said plunger to move the latter in the opposite direction toreturn the same, said rotatable member and said screw to ynormal holdingposition. l f v f 8. In a wrench having a member provided with a headformed with a fixed jaw, and a movable member having a jaw shiftabletoward and from said fixed jaw, the combination of an operating screwjournalled on said vmovable member, teeth on said head with which saidscrew engages for actuating said movable jaw, said movable jaw having atapered seatT and said screw having a tapered part engageable with saidseat, means for yieldingly holding said tapered part frictio-nal'lyagainst said seat to prevent said screw from turning and said movablejaw from moving when pressure is applied thereto in a direction awayAfrom said -xed jaw, means operable at will for releasing said taperedscrew part from said seat, said head having an open ended slot formedtherein, apart on said movable member entering said slot and movable.lengthwise thereof for guiding said movable member andholding said screwin operative'relat-ion to said xed jaw, and a part securedto said headfor closing the open end. of said slotand which is removable to permitsaid movable member to be detached from said head.

- HENRY W. SWITZER.

